pas de deux
by WaffleDogOfficial
Summary: Compared to the other dancers in her ballet class, Sakura is clumsy and awkward. She can't dance en pointe to save her life and she spends the entire class getting yelled at by the teacher. But if she's the worst dancer, why is graceful beautiful Ino asking her to dance a pas de deux?


**My third entry in Naruto Femslash Week 2019. I decided to use the "Dance" prompt and make a Princess Tutu crossover. I'm not the only one who wanted Ahiru and Rue to get together, am I?**

xOxOxOx

Once Ami finished her _pas de deux_ with Sasuke, she stood sneering down at Ino with the boy entwined through her arm. Sakura might not have been studying ballet for long, but she knew that taking someone's partner was a low blow.

Sasuke, meanwhile, looked unconcerned and uninterested about the entire situation. He had danced with Ami after being asked, but he only wanted to practice more, not caring about the rivalry between the two girls.

"Miss Ino, I'd very much like to see YOUR _pas de deux_" the girl sneered. "But whether or not there's an actual partner for you."

"That was mean" Sakura whispered to herself.

"Ino is in a pinch!" Tenten whispered next to her.

Instead of looking intimidated by the girl however, Ino looked unphased at having her normal partner stolen. She stood up and looked around the dance room for a new partner.

"Would you dance with me?" Ino asked while staring in Sakura's direction.

"What? Huh?" Sakura asked with eyes wide open in surprise. She looked around desperately to see who Ino was talking to. When Ino didn't move her eyes elsewhere, Sakura pointed at herself. "Me?"

"That's right," Ino answered with a small smile.

Ino pulled Sakura up to stand in front of her and began to stretch and prepare for dance, bending forward to touch the floor with the palms of her hands. Sakura started to tremble in nervous anticipation. She didn't want to make Ino lose with her terrible skills.

"I-I-Ino, you know I'm really terrible at this so I don't think that I'm going to be any good to you at all!" Her legs shook in fear as Sakura explained herself.

"Don't worry, just follow my directions, all right?" Ino smiled, meeting Sakura eye to eye.

With that, Ino led her towards the bars and the two girls stood side by side facing their audience. Ino gracefully curtsied at the audience while Sakura awkwardly bent her legs down in a poor imitation of a bow. With that, they waited for the music to begin their dance.

"Don't be nervous," Ino jumped behind Sakura and whispered in her ear.

"Ah... uh... o-okay," Sakura said, trying to force a smile on her face and failing.

Sakura could hear the other students speculating among each other how she would mess up. She swallowed nervously and hoped that her face was not as red as it felt. She tried to stand en pointe but her legs shook weakly. Behind her, Ino stood tall and proud on the tips of her toes. The music started and the two girls began their dance.

Ino moved gracefully behind her, sweeping her hands overhead while dancing en pointe side to side. Sakura tried to copy her, but she was slow and clumsy, missing Ino's leads and falling out of step in front of her. Despite her mistakes, however, Ino continued her routine without pause.

Ino stepped into the center of the dance floor and Sakura followed after her. They danced in circles around one another and Ino moved to stand behind her once again.

"Now jump," Ino commanded her.

Sakura took a few steps forward and felt Ino's soft hands around her waist. Ino lifted her up in a leap that made Sakura lose her breath. She smiled at the feeling and marveled at Ino's strength of being able to lift her up so easily.

She could hear the other students gasping in awe from the floor and she knew that Ino was the one truly responsible for the spectacle. She was the one with talent, grace, and poise, not Sakura.

Ino continued to lead the dance, guiding Sakura in feats of ballet that she had never been able to do by herself before. For once, she felt less like an awkward duck and more like a graceful swan as she danced with her. She wanted to treasure the moment forever.

When the music eventually stopped, Ino bent down into a graceful bow and squeezed Sakura's hand, asking her to follow her lead. Embarrassed, Sakura bent her head down in gratitude towards her captive audience.

The other students began to clap enthusiastically at their _pas de deux_. It had not been technically perfect, but Ino and Sakura had managed to show emotion and heart in their performance. In comparison, Ami and Sasuke's dance, while mechanically proficient, lacked any emotional impact or connection that made Ino and Sakura's dance beautiful.

Ino smiled at Sakura gratefully and walked to sit down next to Sasuke again. Ami fumed from the other side of the room, furious at being outclassed by Ino, despite having a weaker partner. Sakura, blushing furiously, scratched the back of her neck at the applause and moved to sit next to Hinata.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked down, embarrassed. Her heart threatened to leap out of her chest and she had to remind herself to breathe before she passed out. She lifted her eyes to look at Ino again. The other girl was talking animatedly to Sasuke. He didn't appear to listening however, and instead he seemed to prefer glaring at Naruto across the room.

_I hope we can dance together again,_ she hoped.

xOxOxOx

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Have a good morning, afternoon, or evening wherever you are in the world~**

**Please R&R**


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